Clients old and new have been asking us what’s up with skyrocketing construction costs and where we think things will head – up, down or stay much the same. Like you, we don’t have a crystal ball so we can’t see with any certainty where things will go. So, we asked Jeremy Blake, Associate Director – Quantity Surveying at Hampton Jones for his expert opinion. Here’s what he had to say.
We’ve all heard, and many of us are feeling the effects of the slowing economy and The Reserve Bank’s efforts to curb inflation. Recent predictions are that we will remain in a ‘recession’ until the end of 2024, with some predicting inflation won’t get below 3% until then, or even early 2025. From an industry perspective, things are still tough.
The Hundertwasser Art Centre is possibly the most uniquely complex build ever in the history of New Zealand. Imagine a building that has no two
We’re proud to share our recent wins at the NZ Commercial Project Awards. Our Hundertwasser Art Centre project was acknowledged twice, with Darrell, Marlene and the team hitting the podium and picking up Gold and Special Awards for 2022.
At the end of last year, Business Coach Britta Christiansen and Darrell took part in a Master Builders Elevate webinar titled ‘Hard Conversations’ – or, as Britta prefers, conversations that matter. The webinar looked at how to have difficult but often necessary conversations with clients, staff, subbies and others.
10 September is World Suicide Prevention Day. It’s an opportunity for people in New Zealand and worldwide to raise awareness of suicide and suicide prevention. MATES in Construction has moved its annual Fly the Flag campaign to get behind suicide prevention from 10 September to 10 November due to the recent lockdown that continues to affect our mates in Auckland.
Young Kiwi men in the construction sector are taking their lives at an alarming rate. A 2019 BRANZ report on Suicide in the NZ Construction Industry Workforce found that of 685 people who died by suicide in New Zealand in the year to June 2019, 6.9% or 47 of those worked in the construction sector. It’s a serious problem that MATES in Construction NZ are determined to do something about it.
Price is an important part of any project, but more important is what you’re getting for that price. Clients are always after the best value they can get from their construction project or program. The industry and many clients are moving away from the limitations of traditional master-servant project relationships and lowest price tendering towards a more collaborative approach because of the many advantages a partnered approach to project procurement provides all partners.
Advisory firm BDO NZ has released the 2020 Construction Survey. In two parts this year – giving a pre and post-COVID snapshot of the industry, the 2020 survey report looks at the impact COVID-19 has had on the industry and the industry’s key concerns and strategies for survival and growth.
Believe it or not, my role as National President Master Builders comes to a close at the end of August at the Master Builders AGM.
As everyone says, where did the last two years go, and how did they slip by so fast? It has been a real privilege to get around the country and meet the members that range from extremely large businesses to one employee. The passion for the Master Builders brand, their people and the industry has been fantastic to experience. I look forward to continuing to support them all at the events such as Apprentice of the Year, House of the Year, NZ Commercial Project Awards, together with all of their local events.
